Lading,clamping and transporting device



Feb. 11, 1969 u, KUGLER 3,427,066

LADING, CLAMPING AND TRANSPORTING DEVICE Filed June a; 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTOR b Uwe. M 4 Q amifiwafifillq Feb. 11, 1969 U. H. KUGLER LADING, CLAMPING AND TRANSPORTING DEVICE Sheet 2 of 2 Filed June 6, 1967 R Q 43% N w W% a v K W MY. um 1 u w M 4 a M 3 1- LI I 4 a 2 3 6 2 5 H 1: .l m n WLL: 4 1 a 7 2 4 a w .fil H a United States Patent 3,427,066 LADING, CLAMPING AND TRANSPORTING DEVICE Uwe H. Kugler, Waterloo, Iowa, assignor to The Greater Iowa Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed June 6, 1967, Ser. No. 643,968 US. Cl. 294-67 Int. Cl. B66c J/28, 1/62 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adjustable clamping device for balancing and lifting varying sizes of stacks of crates loaded with fruit or other types of lading.

Background of the invention The invention pertains to an adjustable balance material handling device for collecting stacked loaded contamers of miscellaneous materials including fruits.

Summary of the invention The object of the invention is to provide a device which is adjustable for engaging and transferring various sized loaded containers and includes means for manually adjusting the lifting arm thereof to the center of gravity of changing loads.

Description of drawing Description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention Referring now in detail to the drawing, the clamp is comprised of an adjustable base indicated generally as 1, an adjustable post member indicated generally as 2 and an adjustable lifting arm indicated generally as 3. The base member central portion 1 may be of any suitable construction, preferably a hollow rectangular metal memher 4 having hollow correspondingly shaped end members 5 slidably received over each end thereof. Each member 5 is provided with one or more threaded openings 6 in an outer face thereof for reception of threaded members 7 to clamp the end members 5 to member 4 in any desired spacing to accommodate varying widths of the crate member indicated generally as 8 in FIGS. 2 to 5. The outer ends of each member 5 are rounded as at 9 and have alinged openings 10. Crate gripping arms, indicated generally at 11 are comprised of suitable preferably rectangular members 12 having at one end outwardly diverging portions 13 and adjacent the opposite end vertically spaced portions 14 for embracing the free ends of members 5. The portions 14 and members 5 are pivotally connected by suitable pivot pins 15. Each crate gripping arm portion 12 has on its inner face and adjacent arm portion 13 suitable means such as a projection'or dog 16 for engaging suitable recessed hand holds 17 on opposite sides of crate 8. For retention of dogs 16 in the crate hand holds 17 each gripper arm 12, outwardly of its connection to the members 5, is provided with a suitable recess 18 and aligned openings 19 for reception of a compression spring arm 20 attached thereto by pivot pin 21. Encircling the free end of arm 20 is a suitable compres- 3,427,066 Patented Feb. 11, 1969 ice sion spring 22 and abutment arm 23 which are retained in place by a suitable nut 24. Abutment arms 23 are suitably secured to the adjacent members 5 and place springs 22 in compression when crate gripping arms 11 are deflected outwardly during initial engagement with crate 8. After the projections 16 on gripper arms 12 are engaged with crate recessed hand holds 17, the springs 22 retain the engagement until manually released.

Attached intermediate the ends of base members 4 is vertical member 25, preferably a hollow rectangular tube which is telescoped into a correspondingly shaped upper portion 26. The members 25 and 26 are maintained in fixed adjusted relation by one or more suitable screw threaded members 27. Rigidly attached to the upper end of member 26 is the adjustable lifting arm 3 comprising the hollow outer metal rectangular portion.28 and an inner similarly shaped portion 29 telescopically received therein. Said members 28 and 29 being maintained in adjusted arrangement by one or more suitable threaded members 30. Adjacent the outer end of member 29 is a rigidly secured member 31 to which is pivotally attached a link 32 for engagement by any suitable form of lifting mechanism L for transferring the clamp and its load to any desired location.

The fruit crate 8 as shown in FIG. 5 is a conventional form of crate, usually of wood, commonly employed by fruit growers to receive fruit as hand-picked from the trees. As the crates are filled they are carried to an end of a row of trees and stacked in groups of from 2 to 6 crates. Thereafter a suitable material handling device equipped with the clamp of the invention is driven to the situs of the stack and the said clamp is suitably positioned relative to the bottom crate of a stack for lifting and posiioning the crates on said device. A workman need only position arms 12 of the clamp relative to the bottom crate of a stack of crates and, after engaging the portions 13 of the clamp arms 12 with the crate, push the clamp towards the stack of crates to engage portion 16 of the clamp arms 12 with the bottom crate hand holds 17. During this pushing movement of the clamp, the arms 11 are spread and move over the ends of the crate. During this spreading movement the springs 22 attached to the arms 11 are placed in compression and as the clamp arm portions 16 are aligned with the crate hand holds 17 the springs 22 move the portions 16 of arms 11 into engagement with said hand holds 17. To release the clamp from a stack crates, the arms 12 are disengaged by pulling outward on the portions 13 thereof.

The crate 8 of FIG. 5 while of conventional form, may vary in height, width and length as well as the number in a stack to be lifted by the clamping device of the invention. Hence the clamp of the invention is adjustable to accommodate these variations.

I claim:

1. A lading, clamping and transporting device comprising (a) a rigid longitudinally extending base member having at opposite ends thereof a pivotally mounted rigid forwardly extending spring-loaded lading embracing member,

(b) a rigid vertically extending member fixed to said base member intermediate the ends thereof,

(c) a rigid top member fixed to and extending forwardly from said vertically extending member, and

((1) means on the forward end of said top member for engagement by a suitable lifting and transporting device.

2. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said pivotally mounted lading embracing members are provided with a forwardly extending outwardly diverging portion for initially engaging the lading to be received between said pivotally mounted lading embracing members.

3. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said base and vertical members are comprised of at least two telescoping portions for adjusting to various sizes of lading to be handled thereby.

4. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid top member is adjustable in length to balance varying sizes of lading being handled thereby.

5. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein each said base member pivotally mounted lading embracing member have intermediate the ends thereof means for engaging suitably shaped means on the lading for suspending the lading solely by engagement of said means.

6. A material clamping and transporting device, comprising (a) a rigid base member having at each end thereof a pivotally mounted rigid lading embracing member extending forwardly therefrom,

(b) a rigid vertically extending member fixed to said base member intermediate the ends thereof,

(0) a rigid top member secured to and extending forwardly from said vertically extending member,

((1) means on the forward end of said top member for engagement by a suitable lifting and transporting device, and

(e) each said pivotally mounted lading embracing member having a forward diverging portion and provided with a rearwardly disposed spring means resisting lateral displacement of the lading embracing members.

7. The device as defined in claim 6, wherein said rigid base and vertical members are comprised of at least two telescoping members for adjusting to different sizes of lading handled thereby.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 967,661 8/1910 Penfield 29463 2,678,744 5/1954 Kruse 214-653 3,039,810 6/1962 Bellingher et a1 294--67.1

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

R. D. GUIOD, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 294-106 

